It’s hard to believe that the man behind the glass-eyed animatronic freak show of Chuck E. Cheese is the same person who founded Atari, and that both these men are the same person who discovered that diamond-in-the-rough, Steve Jobs. But it’s true: Nolan Bushnell incarnates all of his men. And in his most recent book, Finding The Next Steve Jobs, Bushnell talks about his experience finding Steve.
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Over at The LA Times, there’s a great encapsulation of Bushell’s book, which has a lot of illuminating quotes on what it was like to be an early and friendly mentor to the man who would become the most transformative figure in computing history.
Bushnell’s book, as the title suggest, mostly focuses on what organizations can do to identify guys like Steve Jobs: non-conformist thinkers with abrasive personalities whom might immediately rub interviewers the wrong way, but whose creative sparks are essential to redefining an organization every few years.
“Today, companies have to radically revolutionize themselves every few years just to stay relevant,” Bushnell says in the book. “That’s because technology and the Internet have transformed the business landscape forever. The fast-paced digital age has accelerated the need for companies to become agile.”
That’s why businesses need people like Steve Jobs.
“Most of these folks are non-conformists,” Bushnell told The LA Times. “Sometimes when you hire people who have to pass a Mr. Congeniality test, you end up losing some of the non-conformists who will give you different views and perspectives.”
Mr. Bushnell’s book is now on sale over at Amazon.com.
